Capstan.



C. H. CLARK.

CAPSTAN. l APPLICATION FILED SEPT.21, 1912. Patented Oct. 13,1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CHALES H. CLARK, OF WATERTOWN, WISCONSIN cAPsTAN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 13, 1914.

Application led September 21, 1912. Serial N o. 721,555.

To all whom t may concern:

`Be it known that I, CHARLES a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Watertown, in the county of Jefferson and State of VVisconsimhave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Capstans; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear. and exact description thereof, reference being companying drawings, and to the characters of part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements II. CLARK,

in capstans for pulling heavy loads, and

refers more specifically to improved anchoring means for such capstans and to means for manipulating the anchor to insert it into and withdraw it from the ground.

The invention relates further to an improved combined power capstan and tractor, arranged so that the motor which drives the tractor also operates, when the tractorI is stationary, to insert the anchor into and'remove it from the ground.

The invention consists in the novel arrangement and combination of the elements hereinafter set forth, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims'.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view7 of a power capstan embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 3 is a detail section on the Fig. 5 is a detail section Fig. 2. y

The frame of the machine comprises side members 10, 10 and endmembers 11, 11, which may be made of channelS cross section, as herein shown.

12, 12 designate traction wheels which are rotatively mounted on a driving axleor shaft 13 which is carried in bearings on the side members of the frame. o

14, 14 designate steering wheels rotatively mounted on a steering axle 15, which may be connected at the front end of the frame in any suitable manner, and provided with any suitable steering device, not shown.

17 designates a drum that is rotatively mounted on thev axle 13, between the end flanges of'which drum a cable is adapted to be wound, which cable is adapted to be line 4 4 of Fig. 2. on theline 5-5 of had to the ac? reference marked thereon, which form a of Fig. 2. Fig. 4v

frame in front of the drum 17, herein shown n as an internal combustion engine. The crank shaft 21 of said engine is geared by the gear wheels 22, 23 to a transverse transmission shaft 24 rotatively mounted in suitable bearings carried by the side members of the frame. Said shaft 24 carries a wide faced pinion 26 which is adapted to mesh with a gear wheel 27 that is mounted on a transverse shaft 28, said gear wheel being slidably mounted on said latter shaft, but non-rotative thereon. Fixed to or made integral with the gear wheel 27, and there'- fore sliding and turning therewith, is a pinion 30. The said pinion 30 is adapted to mesh withw pinion 31 that loosely mounted on a shaft 32,said pinion 31 meshing also with the gear wheel '18 of the drinn. The gear wheel 27 of the shaft 28 is adapted to mesh with a pinion 34 that is fixed to the shaft 32, and said shaft 32 carries pinions 35, 35 which mesh with the large gear wheels 19 of the vtraction wheels.

wheel 27 and pinion 30 are slid endwise on the shaft 28,A asby means of a shifter lever 37, suitably engaged to a collar 38, movable wit-h said gear wheel and pinion. When the gear 4wheel and pinion occupy fone limit of their movement the gear-wheel 27 meshes with the pinion 34 to drive the rear traction wheels, the pinion 30 being at this time out of mesh with the pinion 31. When the parts are shifted to the other limit of their movement driving power to the traction wheels is disconnected and the pinion 30 is brought into mesh with the pinion 31 to connect the motor to the adapted to be v drum. In an intermediate or neutral position of the gear wheel 27 and pinion 30, both the traction wheels and the drum are disconnected from the motor. The gearing will, of course, be designed to give appropriate speed to thetractive wheels and capacity to rotate in reverse direction, as is common. Power is adapted to be cut olf vfrom the transmission shaft by means of a suitable clutch device operated by a hand` The sa'id gear lever 40. The gearing referred to constiy.,tiites, in itself, no part of the vpresent invene tion, and it has not been deemed necessary to more fully illustrate or describe the same.

The capstan herein shown is designed to pull heavy loads, such for instance, .as 'excavating machinery, tile laying machinery and the like, one instance of its use being f a tile laying machine such as is illustrated in my co-pending application for United States Letters'Patent, Serial No. 721,556, filed of yeven date herewith. In such use of the capstan it becomes necessary to provide anchoring means of great strength. for anchoring the capstan vto the ground, and it ,y becomes also desirable to provide means for readily inserting the anchor into and removing the same from the ground. I may employ one or more than one of such anchors. In the present instance, I have, for

the sake of simplicity of illustration, shown Y but a single anchor and appropriate mechanism for operating the same. f As herein shown, 45 designates the single anchory referred vto which -is arranged for-l v wardly of the motor 20. The anchor herein kshown comprises a iiat steel plate 46 which at a downward and rearward .angle of ap# proximately 45 degrees; Any suitable/me e chanicalmeaiijs may-be employed to insert or forcelrthe anchor into the ground and to withdraw it therefrom, a rack and pinion mechanism being herein shown.

In the form of construction illustrated a series of rack teeth is applied to the forward or lower side of the anchor, herein shown as having the form of a rackbar separately made andapplied to the central l web or plate ofthe anchor. The'sad rack bar is engagedby a gear wheel or pinion 56 that is fixed to a shaft 57 which extends transverselyfacross, and is rotatively mount- I Vso be separately locked to said shaft, as by al ed in bearings57 carried by the side members of the frame. lThe said shaft 57 is driven from the transmission shaft 24 through the medium of a wormwheel 58 on the shaft 57, and a w'orm 59 onthe shaft 60 which extends rearwardly from theworm toward the transmission shaft, and is provided at its rear end with a beveled gearl 61 arranged for meshing engagement with opposing gear wheels 62, 63 loosely mounted on said transmission shaft and adapted to clutch collar or spool slidable but non-rotative on the shaft, and said collar or spool may be actuated by a hand lever 64. Through the mechanism described, the shaft maybe rotated in either of two opposite directions to drive the pinion 56 in either direction to insert the anchor into or with draw it from the ground. The rack of the anchor is maintained in meshing engage ment with the pinion 56 by means of a guide frame comprising the side plates 65 which are apertured at their forward portions to receive the shaft 57 which carries the gear 56, and are apertured at their rear upper margins to receive shafts 66, 66 on which are mounted anti-friction rollers 67, 67 which bear against the upper rear face of the anchor.

In order to avoid the anchor resisting stress being transmitted to the capstan frame, when the anchor is set into the ground and a pulling force is exerted on the capstan, I may provide a connection between the anchor and the axle which carries the capstan drum of such construction and arrangement as to transmit tension stresses directly from the drum axle or shaft to the anchor at a point near where it enters the ground. Thus I am enabled to relieve the frame of the machine from the anchor resisting stresses, and am thereby enabled to correspondingly reduce the dimensions of the frame, as compared to machines wherein the anchor resisting stresses are transinitted through the frame at a point distant v from the drum. A practical form of connection between the drum axle or shaft and the anchor is herein shown and is made as fol-- lows:

k70, 70 designate links provided at their forward ends with eyes 7l, 71 which engagel over the drum axle or shaft 13 and are provided at their rear ends with eyes 7l that engage over a transverse shaft 72 mounted,

in` bearings 73 which depend from and are 74,74 designate links which are slotted atl their rearv ends 75 to engage over the shaft 72 and are provided at their front ends with apertures or eyes 7 6 to receive a shaft 77 arranged in front of the inclined anchor near the ground level, said shaft 77 carrying rollers 78, 78 which bear against the transversely across the rear or plain face of -the anchor and are provided with bearing rollers 82 which bear upon said rear plain face ofl the-anchor. The said 'plates 80,

-Withthe shafts and rollers cariied thereby,

attached, to the side members of the frame.

constitute a lower (supported from the chine, as hereinafter guidel for the anchor main frame of the madescribed) to maintain the lower guide in proper relation to the upper guide formed between the roller bearing frame 65 and the pinion 56, so as to thereby enable the anchor to be guided prop-` erly into the ground and held in proper angular positionv relatively to the frame.

The angle at whichthe anchor enters the ground may be varied by providing the rear ends of the links 74 with a number of apertures 76 to receive the shaft 77, as will be apparent. When operating in moist or loose ground the angle of the anchor to the vertical may be somewhat decreased, as compared to operations in more solid or dry ground, and the construction and arrangement described suit different conditions met with.

In manipulating the clutch lever 64, the shaft 60 may be connected to the motor 20 to either drive the anchor into the ground or withdraw it therefrom at a time when power is cut 0E from the traction wheels and the drum. lVhen the anchor is withdrawn from the ground, the overweight of the upper end thereof acts to swing the lower end of the anchor upwardly about the shaft 57 as a fulcrum'to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The slotted connection of the links 74 with the shaft 72 permits this relative movement of the lower end of the anchor relatively to the shaft.

The guide frame composed of the side plates 80, the shafts 77 and 8l land their Y rollers is supported, when the anchor is thus of the frame bars or links 85, 85

withdrawn and swung upwardly,

connected at ytheir lo-wer ends to the shaft 77 and at their upper ends to the shaft57, said frame bars or links serving to maintain the lower guide frame in proper alinement relatively to the anchor and to prevent a canting movement of the lower guide frame such as would tend to cause the anchor to bind in said rame.

When operating in moist or loose ground, the anchor may be withdrawn from` the ground by merely driving the machine for-l wardly under its own power, or otherwise from an anchored position. In such event, the slotted connection of the links .74 with the shaft 72 permits thevlower end of the anchor to swing upwardly toward the shaft 72 without imposing any thrust stresses on said connections which would, in the absence of such lost motion, tend to distort s aid connections.

While I have described the structuralde tails of the machine shown," constituting one embodiment of my invention, with considerable particularity, it will be understood that many of the details are capable of variation within the spirit and scope of the permit adjustment of the anchor to by means ,mounted in the frame invention, and the invention is not limited to such details except as hereinafter made the subject of specific claims, and as imposed by the prior art. c alm as my 1nvent1on',- l. The combination with a motor driven capstan embracing a frame and a motor ,thereon operatively connected to the capstan, of a downwardly and rearwardly in clined anchor therefor, guides on the frame to yguide the endwise movement of the anchor and operative connections between the motor and anchor to' mechanically force the same into and withdraw it from the ground.

2. The combination with a motor driven capstan, of a downwardly and rearwardly inclined anchor therefor, guides carried by the framey forl the upper and lower ends of the anchor, and operative connections between the motor and anchor, embracing a reversing gear mechanism, whereby the anchor may be forced into or withdrawn from the ground by said motor.

3. The combination with a motordriven capstan, embracing a thereon operatively connected to the capstan, of a downwardly and rearwardly inclined anchor therefor, guides carried by the frame for the upper and lower ends of the anchor, and rack and pinion mechanism operframe and a motor ated by the motor for forcing the anchor into and withdrawing it from the ground.

4. The combination with a motor driven capstan, embracing a wheeled frame and a motor thereon operatively connected to the capstan, of an anchor therefor -insertible into and withdrawable fro-m the ground, a rack arranged longitudinally of the uanchor, a rotative pinion mounted on the frame and meshing with said rack, and means whereby said pinion is driven from said motor, said anchor being swingable about the axis of said pinion as a fulcrum, whereby when the anchor is withdrawn from the ground the overweight of the upper end thereof swings the lower end of the anchor away from the ground.

5;.The combination with a capstan, em-y bracing a rigid fra-me, of an inclined anchor therefor insertible into and withdrawable from the ground, guide means for the-upper end of the anchor carried by'said frame, other guide means below and suspended from the frame for the lower end of the anchor, and operating means carried by the frame and cosacting with the anchor to positively withdraw the anchor from and insert it into the ground.

6. The combination with a capstan, embracing a rigid frame, of an anchor therefor insertible into and withdrawable from the ground, guide means for the anchor carried by said frame,- a rack arranged longitudinally of the anchor and a' rotative kpinion and meshing with l said rack, said anchor being swingable 'about the axis of said inion as a fulcrum where-A by when the anc or is withdrawn from the ground, the overweight of the upper end A thereof swings the lower end of the anchor away .from the ground. 7. In a capstan, a frame, provided'at its I lrear end with'a shaft, a drum on the shaft,

' an anchor having guidin connections with said frame, means where y the anchor may f y be forced into the ground and-tension Vconnections-extending directly between said /shaft andv tha'arichor near the ground level "thereof bracing a rigid frame provided at its rear l end with a shaft and a drum ,on thel shaft,

8. The combinationv with a capstan, em-

of an anchor therefor insertible into and withdrawable from the ground, and tension connectionsr extending directly from the 1 anchor near the ground'level thereof to the y frame at a point near the drum.

9. In a capstan, a frame, provided at its rear end with a shaft, a drum on the shaft,

ananchor having guiding connections with said'frame, means whereby the anchor may be forced into the ground `and tension connections extending between said shaft and the anchor near4 the ground level thereof, said tension connections embracing means v to permit it toV break outof tension line when the rear end of the anchor, is 'swung' upwardly.

10. In a capstan, a frame provided. at its rear end (with, a shaft, a drum on the shaft, a longitudinally slidable, rearwardly inclined anchor, guide bearings carried by the frame for' the anchor, a lower guide bearing near the groundlevel depending from and carried Yby the vframe, and a' tension device front of the anchor, plates arranged laterally at the sides of said anchor through which said shaft extends, bearing rollers carried by the plates for engagement with the rear side of said' anchor, and tension means connecting said latter shaft tothe drum shaft or axle.

12. In a capstan, a frame provided at its l rear end with a shaft or axle, a drum thereon, a longitudinallyv slidable, rearwardly inclined anchor, guides carried by the frame for said anchor, a shaft extending transversely across the frame between said drum shaft or axle and the anchor, spacing links vconnecting said latter shaft to the drum YLilas/is *shafty or axle, and other links connected to the anchor guide near the ground level and vl`having slotted connection with said intermediate shaft.

13. A self-propelled motor driven capstan v.comprising va frame provided with a driving and a steering axle, traction and steering wheels on the driving and steering axles,

respectively, a motor carried by the frame, a drum rotativelymounted on the driving axle, gearing operatively connecting the motor to the drum and to the driving axle to independently drive the same, an inclined anchor inadvance of the drum, guides for the vupper and lower ends of the anchor carried, by the frame, operative connections between the motor and anchor, independent of the drum and axle driving connections, to force the anchor into and withdraw the same from the ground and connections between the driving axle and the lower end of the anchor.

14. A self-propelledmotor driven capstan comprising a frame provided with a driving and a-steering axle, traction and steering wheels on the driving and steering axles, respectively, a motor carried by the frame, a drum rotatively mounted on the driving axle, gearing operatively connecting the motor to the drum and to the driving axle to independently drive the same, an anchor in advance of the drum, guides for the anchor carried by the frame, operative connections between the motor and anchor, independent of the drum and axle driving connections, to force the anchor into and withdraw the same from the ground, and tension means extending directly from the driving axle to the anchor guide at a point near the ground level.

15. In a capstan, a frame, provided at its rear end with a shaft, a drum on` the shaft, an anchor having guiding connections with said frame, means whereby the anchor may be forced into the ground, tension connections extending between said shaft and the anchor near the ground level thereof and means for varying the angle of presentation of the anchor to thev ground.

16. In a capstan, a frame provided at its rear end with a shaft or axle. a drum thereon, a longitudinally slidable, rearwardly inclined anchor, for said anchor, a shaft extending transversely across 'the frame between said drum shaft or axle and the anchor, spacing links connecting said latter sha-ft to the drum shaft or axle, and other links connected to the anchor guide near the ground level and having slotted connection with said intermediate shaft, said latter links having adjustable connection to said lower anchor guide. 'I

17. In a capstan, a frame provided at its rear end with an axle or shaft, a drum thereguides carried by the frame i 0n, a longitudinally slidable, rearwardly inas my invention I aiX my signature in the clined anchor, upper and lower guides for presence of two witnesses, this 13th day of 10 1the anchor carried by the frame, a tension September, A. D. 1912. ink havin means Yadjustaloly connecting it 5 to the lowger anchor guide and means for l CHARLES H' CLARK' connecting the tension link to the frame ad- Witnesses: jacent to the drum axle. A. B. CLARK,

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing W. L. HALL. 

